Flying to CA to get my daughter. If I buy 2 roundtrip tix on Priceline, can she just use the return portion?

Question

I need to fly to Cali to pick up my daughter and bring her back home with me. If I buy two roundtrip tickets from Priceline.com from DCA to SFO, can my daughter just use the return (SFO back to DCA) portion of the ticket? Will the airline cancel the whole trip if the departure portion (DCA to SFO) is not used?

Thank You

Answer 1

Generally, if you don't use the first leg of the trip, the rest of the itinerary is cancelled. No refund, no credit.

More and more airlines are selling their itineraries in one-way segments (Southwest, Alaska for sure) so you no longer need to buy a roundtrip to get the best price. Just buy as much as you need.

In addition to SFO, look at OAK and SJC. Sometimes a different departure city in the same metro area can be $150 to $200 different in price.

Answer 2

One stunt that would work is to buy two round-trip tickets: one DCA-SFO-DCA for yourself, and one SFO-DCA-SFO for your daughter. Then, if you only use half of daughter's ticket, the airline can't complain. But check the prices of all of these options on your favorite travel web sites.
When I came home from Riyadh for the last time, the company gave me a one-way ticket. I exchanged this for a round trip ticket and $550 refund. If you want a flight coupon good for travel from Calgary to Riyadh, I have one cheap.

Answer 3

It depends what airline you are using just like said above some airlines have policies that don't allow you to use the return portion only. You definitely need to contact the airline to make sure before you purchase the ticket because if not you are subjecting yourself to lots of fees to change it.

Answer 4

Well, I'm not sure, but you should just buy one roundtrip and one from CA to your home destination. No sense in buying something you aren't going to use.